Tag: Top Ten Tuesday Page 1 of 4

The barbarian traveled far to consult the wizards of the empire. Instead of lending their aid, they ensorcelled him, exploited his strength, and stole his sword. They should not have done that.

Now the barbarian plans to kill every wizard who wronged him, even if that means blending in with their vile society: dressing in finery, taking tea in exclusive clubs, and reserving the best box at the theater.

Oh, he hates it all with the fiery passion of his savage heart—but not as much as he hates these wizards.

This just looks like a lot of fun. A breezy summer read.

A perfectly executed shadow step demonstrates synchronized elegance. It showcases a couple in near telepathic harmony with one another. It does not normally end with someone stone-dead in a lake.

DS Declan Miller is a magnet for strange cases, but an innocent man confessing to the crime? That's a first. Things rapidly escalate when the murder that isn't really a murder attracts the unwanted attention of a drug Queenpin, a deranged ex-squaddie, and a lovesick gangland enforcer. And when a real murder follows - and a student is kidnapped - all evidence points back to the same innocent man.

Throw in a wobbly dog, a pair of ceramic leopards, and the distracting smell from a biscuit factory, and Miller's only option to save a young man's life is to waltz all the way into the shadows.

Oooooh. DS Miller is such a fun detective, am eager to spend more time with him.

The next darkly-funny thrill-ride of a book in the bestselling Washington Poe series.

I’m so glad the Bookshop.org page didn’t give many details, I don’t want to know anything beyond the title about this one until I open it up. This is the one I’m least confident in reading this summer–International shipping is not going to be my friend when it comes to timely arrival.

In modern tech parlance, a centaur is a person who is able to use technology to be a better, more productive version of themself. A reverse centaur is a person who is forced by technology to work at an inhuman pace—a driver made to deliver all day long, nonstop; a warehouse worker made to work without food or bathroom breaks; a programmer made to crank out impossible amounts of code.

The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI is not another anti-AI screed. Cory Doctorow uses AI in his work every day. As a creative person, he has no moral or dogmatic issue with AI—he thinks the technology is useful, even exciting, and full of potential. And yet.

AI has arrived surrounded by unprecedented hype driven by a tech industry desperate to maintain its unprecedented valuation based on its own promises of endless financial growth. Despite the fact that almost all of AI’s real-world implementations have proved underwhelming, AI is projected to be worth more than $16 trillion—a number that only makes sense if AI replaces vast swathes of the wage-earning human workforce. To justify that level of “value,” every story about AI must be presented as inevitable, world-changing disruption. Even the tales of the robot apocalypse are a calculated attempt to bolster the fearsome power of AI.

For Doctorow, it is imperative to see through that hype to the real story, to understand the technology not just for what it does, but for who it does it to and who it does it for. From that point of view, the story of AI is indeed dramatic and unprecedented, having generated an investment bubble so big that it endangers the entire world economy. In The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI—as he so successfully did in Enshittification—Doctorow recounts both how we found ourselves in this dire situation and how we can get through it, to a life “after” AI in which the tools work for us, not the other way around.

Few people are as good as Doctorow when it comes to tech writing. This is going to be good.

The knives are out in this fast-paced, standalone Fungalverse novel. Set several months after the events of the award-winning Mushroom Blues, this side story combines the culinary wonder of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, the kitchen chaos of The Bear, and the explosive tension of Hong Kong crime thrillers.

In the aftermath of the "Fuyu Massacre," riots and whispers of revolution continue to plague the Hōpponese capital of Neo Kinoko. As a result, the iron grip of a foreign military occupation tightens day by day. Amidst this, Pocho Jiro, a once-renowned makizushi chef, has chosen to cook for Duncan MacArthur-the Coprinian Military Governor in Hōppon-as his personal chef... and indentured servant.

A run-in with dangerous fungal gangsters sets off a chain of events that Pocho cannot escape from. He's left with two choices: Assassinate MacArthur, or watch his beloved sister die in front of his eyes. Will Pocho take up his knife and prepare MacArthur's final meal?

More time in Gibson’s Fungalverse is enticement enough for me. But this blurb seals the deal.

Edison Bixby is wealthy, handsome, and, due to a traumatic brain injury, impulsively rude. He's also a brilliant insurance investigator who solves baffling crimes by figuring out how the design of the man-made world around us makes them possible. Enter Wally Nash: a struggling actor hired to keep Bixby from offending everyone he meets.

Their first case together looks like a simple accident. Caroline Crowley took a nasty fall down a staircase at a shopping mall in front of dozens of witnesses. Video clearly shows the deadly misstep. But Bixby is certain she was murdered by design, subtly manipulated into causing her own demise. The mall itself made the crime intentional, if not inevitable.

Now Bixby must prove his outrageous theory before a very cunning killer gets others on his hit list to murder themselves, too.

A Lee Goldberg series premier. Of course I’m going to read it. As one would expect, this looks like a fun one.

Angelina Everhart-Trueblood and her brother Evan run Everhart Investigations, a PI firm in Chattanooga that solves paranormal crimes committed by supernatural beings. When their new client wants help finding her friend, who supposedly disappeared during a reception at Angie’s aunt Jane’s winter residence, things get . . . complicated.

The client is not who she appears to be, and demons strike the city for the first time since the Witch War. On top of that, evidence is pointing toward the involvement of an overly ambitious vampire—who just happens to be Angie’s ex-husband.

As Angie and Evan team up with CPD, they will have to dig deep into their magical reserves—and rely on some friends in high places—to rid Chattanooga of the danger creeping into their city.

Angie and Evan all grown up and PIs? Yes, please.

In True Romance: A Noir Anthology, passion isn't red roses and candlelight. Instead, it's obsession, betrayal, revenge, and the kind of desire that leaves bodies in its wake.

Collected and Edited by Troy Lambert and Vincent Zandri, this dark and razor-sharp collection gathers some of the most compelling voices in crime fiction, including Reed Farrel Coleman, Charles Salzberg, Paul D. Brazill, Frank Zafiro, Scott Kikkawa, Danica Favorite, Lawrence Kelter, Rebelry Stone, Samantha Ripley, J.E. Fishman, and more.

Inside these pages, you'll find:

• A philosophy professor who turns deadly revenge into an intellectual exercise.
• A society wife framed for her husband’s murder in a web of mob politics and betrayal.
• Lovers whose secrets rot beneath polished exteriors.
• Criminal masterminds are undone by passion.
• Killers who mistake lust for loyalty-and pay the price.

From quiet suburban rot to organized crime empires, from calculated seduction to explosive violence, these stories explore the dangerous intersection where love and darkness meet. Because in noir, love isn’t salvation. It’s motive. Perfect for fans of neo-noir, hardboiled crime, morally complex characters, and dark romantic suspense, True Romance proves that sometimes the most lethal weapon is the human heart.

It’s been a good year for short stories and me. This collection looks like it’ll keep that going.

On the Red Planet, oxygen is free. The truth will cost you everything.

Rosa Lakhani is a legendary Martian investigator, known as the "Ripper" for her uncompromising tactics and high-end clearance rate.

She's investigating a wave of terrorist attacks on Mars when her partner is nearly killed by a bomb meant for her.

With the help of an AI system built by her comatose partner, Rosa ignores her bosses and keeps chasing the money that’s funding the attacks, leading her all the way up the political food chain.

It also leads her to Parrish, an underworld fixer from the asteroid belt, or "savage," posing as a corporate lawyer on Mars to extract a dying informant who knows the dark truth about the Mars Terraforming Initiative.

These two natural enemies must forge an uneasy alliance as they uncover evidence of corruption that will shake the entire solar system — something the most powerful interests on Mars will do anything to keep hidden.

Rosa vows to bring them down, but Parrish might just be convinced to help them bury it . . . for the right price.

Trang’s style in a SF mystery? Please, oh, please.

Book 2 of the Asteroid Savage Series, a gritty, high-stakes science fiction thriller perfect for fans of The Expanse and Altered Carbon, where the line between hero and criminal is as thin as the Martian atmosphere.

I love the fact that we’re getting the sequel a month after the first book. And the fact that all we’re told is “Book 2” just makes this tantalizing.

"This isn’t London. The rules are different up here…"

All Detective Sergeant Peter Grant wanted was a nice holiday up in Scotland.

He'll need one once this is over...

Sea: check.
Sand: some.
Sun: sort of - but that's not the only thing in the sky...

I’ve really enjoyed this post-Faceless Man era of the Rivers of London series, am more than eager to see what’s next.

From “brainrot” memes and incel slang to the trend of adding  “-core” to different influencer aesthetics, the internet has ushered in an unprecedented linguistic upheaval. We’re entering an entirely new era of etymology, heralded by the invisible forces driving social media algorithms. Thankfully, Algospeak is here to explain. As a professional linguist, Adam Aleksic understands the gravity of language and the way we use it: he knows the ways it has morphed and changed, how it reflects society, and how, in its everyday usage, we carry centuries of human history on our tongues. As a social media influencer, Aleksic is also intimately familiar with the internet’s reach and how social media impacts the way we engage with one another. New slang emerges and goes viral overnight. Accents are shaped or erased on YouTube. Grammatical rules, loopholes, and patterns surface and transform language as we know it. Our interactions, social norms, and habits—both online and in person—shift into something completely different.

As Aleksic uses original surveys, data, and internet archival research to usher us through this new linguistic landscape, he also illuminates how communication is changing in both familiar and unexpected ways. From our use of emojis to sentence structure to the ways younger generations talk about sex and death (see unalive in English and desvivirse in Spanish), we are in a brand-new world, one shaped by algorithms and technology. Algospeak is an energetic, astonishing journey into language, the internet, and what this intersection means for all of us.

Love this dude’s videos, eager to see what he does in longer than 2 minute segments (although it will be odd to not get things thrown at me in his rapid-fire style).

Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six.

When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka's ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She's found her final candidate.

But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn't have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan's kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul's worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline.

As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found.

I don’t think I’d heard of this book until last week when I asked what the August SF Book Club read was going to be. Hopefully it lives up to the intriguing concept.

A helicopter driving a controversial round-up of wild horses suddenly crashes and the pilot is found to have been shot. Then the person coordinating the round-up for the Bureau of Land Management is savagely murdered, buried up to her neck and then trampled to death by the very same wild horses. And there's no lack of suspects—with the wild horse advocacy group having sworn to protect the horse At Any Cost! Now the state and federal agencies are showing up looking for answers or at least a scapegoat.

Sheriff Porter Beck has had better days.

Porter Beck's new girlfriend, Detective Charlie Blue Horse, arrives to help with the investigation, which leads them to Canadian Lithium mining operation near the round-up area that sets off Beck's mental alarm bells. Brinley, Beck's sister, is leading a group of troubled kids in a wilderness program, when one of them, Rafa, bolts one night. When Brinley catches up to him, they're just outside the mine—in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

With his personal life in turmoil, too many suspects and too many secrets, the feds pushing for a quick resolution, and his impetuous (if skilled) sister in the mix, one wrong step could be deadly for Porter Beck.

Borgos and Porter Beck were in this spot last year, too. I’m utterly fine with both of them showing up here for the foreseeable future, too.

It’s the season
for treason…

The king of Yusan must die.

The five most dangerous liars in the land have been mysteriously summoned to work together for a single objective: to kill the god king Joon.

He has it coming. Under his merciless immortal hand, the nobles flourish, while the poor and innocent are imprisoned, ruined…or sold.

And now each of the five blades will come for him. Each has tasted bitterness—from the hired hit man seeking atonement, a lovely assassin who seeks freedom, or even the prince banished for his cruel crimes. None can resist the sweet, icy lure of vengeance.

They can agree on murder.

They can agree on treachery.

But for these five killers—each versed in deception, lies, and betrayal—it’s not enough to forge an alliance. To survive, they’ll have to find a way to trust each other…but only one can take the crown.

Let the best liar win.

The manager at Shared Stories sold me on this book last year, but I didn’t have the time to get to it. But, he picked it for July’s Fantasy Book Club read. So I “have” to make time. Yay! Also, the Deluxe Edition Hardcover is one of the prettier books on my shelves. It’s not that important, but man, it looks nice.

Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandment finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading.

Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, becomes something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future.

Except the discovery of their bond would mean the death of each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win. That’s how war works, right?

Cowritten by two beloved and award-winning sci-fi writers, This Is How You Lose the Time War is an epic love story spanning time and space.

I saw all the hubbub about this when it came out, but didn’t follow-up on it, as good as it seemed. Well, the SF Book Club is addressing my oversight.

Welcome back to Assassins Anonymous, the only twelve-step group where joining can be deadly.

When Astrid, known in her assassin days as Azrael, stopped showing up to Assassins Anonymous, the group assumed her past had caught up with her. Only her sponsor Mark, formerly the deadliest killer in the world, holds out hope that she’s okay. Then, during a meeting, the group gets a sign, or rather, a pizza delivery. Is there another psychopath out there who actually likes olives on their pizza, or is Astrid trying to send Mark a message?

Meanwhile, Astrid wakes up in the cell of a black site prison, on a remote island. A doctor subjects her to mysterious experiments, plumbing the depths of her memory and looking for a vital clue from her past. She’ll do anything to escape, except…killing anyone. Hmm. Turns out it’s not easy to blow this joint without blowing anything, or anyone up.

Assassins Anonymous was a great spin on the ex-Hit Man story. To say I’m eager to dive in to the sequel would be an understatement.

An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days following civilization's collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.

It is fifteen years after a flu pandemic wiped out most of the world's population. Kirsten is an actress with the Traveling Symphony, a small troupe moving over the gutted landscape, performing Shakespeare and music for scattered communities of survivors. But when they arrive in the outpost of St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who digs graves for anyone who dares to leave. Spanning decades, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the disaster brought everyone here, this suspenseful, elegiac novel is rife with beauty, telling a story about the relationships that sustain us.

This is a title I’ve heard, but I couldn’t tell you more than at about it until I picked up the copy for the book club this month. It looks pretty cool. And, it gets me one closer for one of my Book Challenges for the year. Win win.

Mrs. Plansky is fresh off of winning a thrilling senior tennis championship with her doubles partner, Kev Dinardo, and is gearing up to celebrate with him on his yacht. That is, until the yacht is destroyed in a fire. Kev claims the fire was caused by a lightning strike, pure bad luck, but there's one small problem—Mrs. Plansky didn't see any lightning.

Already certain there's more going on than she's being told, Mrs. Plansky's curiosity turns to concern when Kev goes missing. Her suspicion gets the better of her and leads her to break into his house, only to find it ransacked.

But Kev isn't the only person Mrs. Plansky has to worry about. A conversation with her dad reveals that not long ago, he'd introduced Kev to Jack, Mrs. Plansky's wayward tennis pro son. And now, her dad—distracted by arrangements for his upcoming wedding—either can't remember or has no interest in divulging any details.

Worse? Now Jack has gone missing, too.

Does the world need a second book about Mrs. Plansky? Not really. Do I care? Not a little bit. Bring it on.

Andy Carpenter has spent the three years since graduating law school working as a prosecutor in Paterson. But having seen how the system never looks out for the little guy, he leaves to start his own practice as a defense attorney. His office might be a little bit of a dump, but he's excited to make a change.

Andy goes to the shelter to adopt a dog, where he meets his beloved golden retriever, Tara, for the first time and feels an immediate connection. The shelter is crowded and Tara's been sharing space with a dog named Sunny; Andy hates to break them up and so asks to take Sunny, too, but since there's a pending criminal case involving the owner, he'll need to get written permission for temporary possession.

Andy discovers that Sunny's owner, Frank Tierney, has been arrested for the murder of his ex-boss. But he takes an immediate liking to Frank and his clear dedication to his dog, and ends up with his first case along with the two dogs.

This prequel to the long-running and perennially popular Andy Carpenter mysteries is a gift for fans and a terrific entry-point for newcomers.

An Andy Carpenter prequel? I did not see that one coming. Color me curious.

Chet is half of the duo that makes up Little Investigations–he’s the brawn, while Bernie Little is the brains. And the driver. And he does anything that requires an opposable thumb or talking. Chet? He’s about the action.

Chet also handles the books’ narration—his loyalty to and love of Bernie shines forth throughout. Slim-Jims, riding shotgun in Bernie’s series of Porsche convertibles, and Charlie (Bernie’s son) are close. His love of taking down perps comes in a third, but boy, does he relish it. You just can’t not grin while reading Chet’s narration.

image taken from the cover of Heart of Barkness and the Tor/Forge blog post Behind the Scenes: The Making of the Heart of Barkness Cover!

The rather unimaginatively named Dog is Walt Longmire’s steadfast companion. He’s a mix of several breeds—and possibly a small bear. He’s there when Walt (or someone else) needs him. Dog can intimidate a suspect—or someone antagonistic to Walt—very easily. Even more than the rather intimidating Henry Standing Bear.

Dog’s also good at comforting and giving affection to humans, too. Like all good dogs. While no one on this list is going to pass up any form of treat—Dog’s stomach seems to be made of sterner stuff than most.

image taken from a recent Facebook post by Johnson, the dog is his old dog, Max, the inspiration for Dog. He apparently plays a big role in the new Walt Longmire book that releases today!

Edgar is Washington Poe’s Springer Spaniel, who serves as comic relief and as an alarm system for Poe. He probably wouldn’t be much of a defender, if it came down to it (no offense, buddy), but he’s alert for anyone approaching Poe’s rather remote croft. Not that Poe needs a defender, he just needs the alert to get ready for trouble.

Edgar doesn’t get enough screen time, but he lights up the page when he does.

image taken from The English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association's website.

Maggie served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan before an IED in Afghanistan killed her handler. This left Maggie with severe PTSD and a second chance at work with the LAPD. It didn’t seem to be going too well for her until she was assigned a partner who was also suffering PTSD after the death of his partner. The two understood each other and helped each other start to recover.

Since then, the pair has made a great team for the LAPD—and even helped out Elvis Cole once. Crais has his hands full with Cole and Pike, but I’d jump on a new Scott and Maggie book so fast that it’d make my head spin.

image taken from the website for Project Paws Alive (a group you might considering donating to)

Mouse is a good dog. Everybody says so. He’s Harry Dresden’s friend, and he’s the protector of Harry’s daughter, Maggie. He’s a Temple Dog, a Foo dog—who pretty much chose to be with Dresden and trained himself by watching Harry.

He’s without doubt the most powerful dog (physically, mentally, and magically) on this list—he will also melt your heart (all of them will, though). If I were ranking these in order of preference, he’d probably be at the top of the list (by a nose). Since his first appearance in Blood Rites, his presence in the series grows and grows (as does audience appreciation for him)—he’s even handled the narration for a couple of short stories.

image taken from Tyler Walpole's page—a print that will soon be hanging on my wall.

I can’t say much about Nobby. I don’t care that the book was published 75 years ago—I’m not going to spoil anything. I can say that he belonged to Mrs. Barry Rackham, after having been given to her by her cousin, Calvin Leeds, who raises and trains them. I can also say that he’s pivotal to the plot.

image taken from the Doberman Pinscher Club of America's website

Oberon is the Irish Wolfhound companion of The Iron Druid (aka Siodhachan O Suileabhain, Atticus O’Sullivan, Connor Molloy). He’s a lover of sausage (and other meat products), a lover of bathtime (especially if it involves stories being told to him), and a fierce fighter. He’s solved some murder mysteries, met gods and goddesses, along with all sorts of supernatural animals. He also knows English—and can communicate telepathically in it to Atticus and anyone else Atticus links him to. With the assistance of Atticus, he’s written “The Book of Five Meats” (a cookbook) and “The Dead Flea Scrolls” (the foundational text of Poochism, a religion for dogs).

Oberon, unlike all of these critters, loves popular culture, movies, and whatnot. He’s funny (even when unintentional) and has a huge heart. There might be times when you’re not so sure how interested you are in his human companions and friends in the books he appears in—but you’ll stick with them for Oberon. I really wish I’d given myself more time to write this post; Oberon deserves a few more paragraphs.

image taken from Kevin Hearne's blog post Oberon's Holiday Special

Named and modeled after Parker’s own German Shorthaired Pointer, Pearl came into the series rather late, but quickly became an ever-present fixture (until her death, and replacement with another German Shorthaired Pointer named Pearl, and then another). Spenser and Susan shared custody of the dog.

Pearl has rarely had an impact on the plot of a novel (although she did contribute in Pastime pretty significantly). Largely, she functions as something for Susan and Spenser to talk about rather than their relationship or Spenser’s case—but she still brightens up any scene she’s in.

image taken from the an author photo on the ofifical Robert B. Parker website

Rose is a very different kind of character than the rest of the dogs on this list in several ways—most definitively in that she’s dead. After a hard life of neglect and abuse, Rose has become a ghostly companion to another ghost. Charlie spends his life looking into murders and other crimes associated with people who were important to him while he was living (including his own murder), and Rose silently accompanies him.

At the same time, Rose both communicates in a way that dog owners will appreciate and will take action on her own to push the investigation forward/direct Charlie. It’s hard to explain.

Nevertheless, when I think of notable dog characters, there’s no way that Rose doesn’t leap to mind.

image taken from a cover of Dead is Better

In real life, Tara was the dog that changed Rosenfelt’s life and inspired him and his wife to begin their shelter for elderly dogs.

In fiction, Tara is Andy Carpenter’s dog and constant companion—the one he turns to for advice and to talk through his cases with. Granted, she doesn’t give him good (or any) feedback, but she can always be trusted to listen to him on their walks. She also inspired Andy to open his dog rescue.

image taken from the cover of Lessons from Tara by David Rosenfelt.